Security and asset management systems are used to monitor homes and businesses to prevent unwanted intrusions as well as to guard against natural disasters. Such systems can include one or more security control panels, or security panels, located throughout the secured area. In addition to physical security panels, the system can be partitioned into virtual partitions, enabling distinct portions of a space or secured area in a secured structure to be separately monitored and/or protected.
To transport messages both within a secured area and between the secured area and a central monitoring station, security systems can employ the internet. Typically, the security panel has an Ethernet connection, either via a gateway or directly, so the panel eventually connects to a router in the secured structure. Accordingly, the system's security panel can exchange alarms and/or other information over the internet with a central monitoring station. In addition, security systems can communicate between security panels and/or between “virtual” partitions within the secured structure using various communication means. Connectivity between partitions is generally via the proprietary buses.
Use of internet connectivity reveals that dynamic IP addresses are troublesome for the security industry. A central monitoring station requires a security panel's IF address to download information to the panel. If the panel's address is a dynamic IP address, then the central monitoring system has no knowledge of the panel's active IP address.
A multi-service operator (MSO) offers multiple services to consumers, such as internet service, telephone service, television and/or cable broadcasts. An MSO generally operates its system as a local area network (LAN) with dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) allocating dynamic IP addresses to its internet customers. Accordingly, an MSO maintains a real time mapping of dynamic IP addresses to physical addresses and names; this mapping changes as the dynamic IP addresses change. Generally this mapping is maintained in a data table or database. Among their internet service offerings, MSOs do not include services for securing physical premises.
Thus there is a need for a security system able to secure physical premises, and able to communicate with its security panels and partitions and with a central station as well as with another, “buddy” security system, over the internet, where both security systems have dynamic IP addresses.